


The Hidden Reason

by inspired_being



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Getting Together, Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, M/M, Professor Draco Malfoy, Professor Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 20:12:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16899132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inspired_being/pseuds/inspired_being
Summary: After the war, Harry befriends Draco but a surprise announcement when he returns to Hogwarts to teach one year reveals Draco still keeps secrets from him and it doesn't sit well.





	The Hidden Reason

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lunas_Lore](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunas_Lore/gifts).



> Dear lunas_lore, working with your prompts was a pleasure and I hope this small fic does the one I chose justice.  
> Thank you to the mods for all their patience and making this fest a pleasure to be a part of. And thanks to my cousin for cheering me on and to CJ for betaing at short notice.

At the start of the school year McGonagall had surprised Harry when she’d announced to all the teachers that the new Potions Master would be none other than Draco Malfoy. 

Harry and Draco had been slowly becoming friends since the end of the war trials, which were a few years behind them now. They met every so often, discussing the state of the wizarding world as well as family, friends and various other random topics that caught their fancy. However, Draco had failed to make any mention about them becoming work colleagues when they had last seen each other, about a week before the new school term started.

Over the first few months at Hogwarts there didn’t seem to be much change to their friendship, apart from establishing a clear boundary between being professional in front of the students and other colleagues while keeping it casual during their irregular private catch-ups. However, each time Harry found an opportunity to breach the topic of why Draco had kept his appointment as Potions Master a secret, Draco either immediately became evasive in his answers or would make some excuse about needing to do “something important”.

By the end of November, Harry had given up trying to ask Draco directly and decided he would try to obtain some answers from McGonagall instead.

“Excuse me, Headmistress,” Harry said as he stood in McGonagall’s office trying to ignore the knowing look he was receiving from Dumbledore’s portrait.

“How many times must I ask you to call me Minerva, Harry?” McGonagall asked as she finished off what she had been writing and looked up at him.

“Sorry… Minerva. Habit.”

“So you keep saying.” She peered at him through her spectacles, making him feel rather uncomfortable. “How can I help you, Harry?”

“Well… you see… I was wondering if you’d be able to tell me about how you came to hire Professor Malfoy?”

Dumbledore’s portrait gave a knowing “Mmm,” and sported a large smile, which made Snape’s portrait roll his eyes and shake his head. McGonagall didn’t pay them any attention. “Harry, surely you know that information is confidential. Do you have an issue with Draco teaching Potions?”

“No--” He was going to add a ‘but’, however McGonagall cut him off.

“Well, then there’s nothing to discuss.” 

Harry tried to think of a way to get her to tell him something… anything…

“Unless there was something else you needed?” McGonagall continued.

“No,” Harry said, sighing in defeat. He walked out of the office, back past the griffin and down the stairs.

\---

As a Christmas present to his seventh year students, Harry dismissed them ten minutes early from their last class before the Christmas break. This also allowed him ample time to head down to the dungeons to catch Draco during the small break between the end of class and the beginning of the end of term feast.

As he arrived outside Draco’s classroom, a line of first year Ravenclaws and Slytherins streamed out of the door. Most walked past without even sparing him a glance, some started whispering to each other and a couple of girls waved at him then giggled when he waved back.

Once he thought the last child had left, he quietly opened the door and stepped inside the classroom. He took a step forward and stopped when he heard sobbing coming from the front of the room.

“It's okay, Eoin. No one did it perfectly and you're still learning.”

“But mine isn't... even… green. It's brown.” Harry heard Eoin say between sobs. He recognised the boy from his Defense Against the Dark Arts class; a timid Ravenclaw with muggle parents and a fear of disappointing both them and his house.

Harry saw Draco put a hand on the boy's shoulder and kneel down in front of him. “You're staying at Hogwarts for Christmas, aren't you?”

Eoin nodded in response as he sniffed and wiped tears from his eyes.

“Well then, how about I give you a few extra lessons over the holidays so you can practice a bit more?”

“Really?” Eoin asked, a hint of excitement in his voice.

“Of course. Just you and me. And we'll make sure you're just as good as everyone else, if not better.”

“That sounds awesome, Professor Malfoy. When can we start?”

“How about tomorrow? I'll meet you in the Great Hall for lunch and we can talk about the issues you've been having before we go down and do some practical things.”

“I'd like that… but maybe not the practical bit.”

“Hmm, maybe we can go to the library and find some reading material then?” Draco offered.

“Yes please.”

“Okay then,” Draco said and stood up. “Off you go and enjoy tonight's feast.”

 

“Thank you Professor Malfoy,” Eoin said and rushed for the door, bumping into Harry's side in the process. The boy turned back with a frightened look on his face. Harry smiled down at him, watching recognition wash across Eoin’s features before he returned the smile and continued out the door and up the hall.

“Trying to spy on me again, Potter?”

Harry turned back to face the front of the room where Draco was still standing. “I wasn't spying on anyone,” he exclaimed as he walked further in. “I just entered the room thinking all the students had gone and stayed back when I realised they hadn't.” Harry finished standing a few feet from Draco.

“But you didn't leave the room,” Draco pointed out. He lent back against his desk, looking particularly righteous in his fitted robes.

“Yes, but I didn't mean…”

 

“To eavesdrop? I'm sure you didn't, but you did anyway. I really thought we were past all this.” 

“I thought we were past hiding things from each other too.” The words came out of Harry’s mouth before he even knew he was speaking them aloud. Malfoy had always been able to push his buttons like that, but Harry wasn't sure he was aiming to this time around. “I mean--”

Draco cut him off. “Just because we’re friends now, doesn’t mean I have to tell you everything that goes on in my life. I am allowed some privacy, you know. I thought you of all people would understand that.”

Harry felt some tension release from his shoulders when he heard Draco refer to them as friends, then immediately felt stupid for not having worked out Draco’s reasoning sooner. Maybe he had become too used to most of the wizarding world knowing what went on in most of his life that he'd forgotten what it was like to be able to keep these sorts of things a secret at all. On top of that, he couldn’t shake the growing desire to know more about what was going on in Draco’s life.

He sighed. “I know. I’m sorry. I'll try to remember better for next time. Though, I still think it would have been nice to know before McGonagall made the announcement.”

“Why? What difference would it have made when you found out?”

He couldn't keep from putting his foot in it, could he. “I dunno. I guess I wouldn’t have been so surprised to see you here… at Hogwarts... in the staff room. Especially when I didn’t think I’d be seeing you for a couple of months.”

“Was it really that surprising McGonagall asked me?” Draco managed to sound both hurt and curious at the same time.

Harry thought about how seeing Draco in the staff room before the start of term had made him feel. It had been a similar warm and fuzzy feeling that he had felt on previous occasions when he had caught up with Draco, but this was somehow different. He’d tried to put the change down to them just becoming friendlier in the months leading up to September, but the more it continued when he saw Draco around the castle, the more Harry couldn’t deny it was something else. Since he wasn’t about to admit anything to Draco and the only other alternative answers to his question Draco he could think of were likely to cause offense, Harry decided to stay silent.

Draco seemed to take his silence as an admission of obliviousness and proceeded to lecture Harry on all the reasons why it shouldn’t have been so surprised. “You knew I was looking for a better job than working at that dingey little apothecary in Diagon Alley. And you _knew_ I’d been studying from Snape’s personal library since they finally let me move into his home after the Ministry closed their investigation.” Draco paused, looking down for a moment before raising his head again and focusing his steely grey eyes on Harry. “Then there is you. I don’t think you even realise the effect you have on people… the effect you’ve had on me.”

The confusion must have shown on Harry’s face because Draco shook his head and gave a small, nervous laugh. “Damn you, Potter.” Draco’s eyes settled on Harry’s again, which made him feel very uncomfortable. It took all of Harry’s effort to keep from looking away. “You make me want to be a better man. Better than what I was brought up to be. I figured helping teach the next generation of witches and wizards would be a good way to do that. Reminding them that we all have a choice, like you’ve taught me on many occasions.”

Draco rose from where he’d been resting on the edge of his desk and started walking towards him. Part of Harry wanted to run, but the Gryffindor in him wasn’t having any of it. Whatever the Slytherin was going to do, he could handle it.

Stopping a few inches from him, Draco said, “You know, I never thought I’d be saying this, but Granger was right. You really are totally clueless, aren’t you?”

There was no time for Harry to respond before Draco reached an arm around Harry’s shoulders, pulled him close, and leaned in to capture his lips. The kiss was cautious at first, but grew more assured as Harry recovered from the initial shock and let the feelings he’d been holding back flow through him and out through Draco’s mouth. He hadn’t known a kiss could feel that good and was reluctant to pull away for fear it might all be a dream.

Draco was the one to slowly pull back and Harry noticed that his own arms had found their way around Draco’s waist, so the blonde couldn’t go far. Draco removed his arms from around Harry and looked down at Harry’s arms then back up at Harry. He took the hint and awkwardly dropped his hands back to his sides.

“Well…” Draco said, sounding a little breathless. “Should we make our way up to the Great Hall for the feast?”

“Umm, sure.”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Come on, _Harry_.” He grabbed Harry’s arm, roughly turned him to face the door and shoved him forward. Using his wand, he closed and locked the Potions classroom door behind them while his free hand found Harry’s and entwined their fingers.

As they climbed the stairs leading to the Great Hall, Harry said, “You know you still haven’t really told me why you kept McGonagall hiring you a secret from me.”

“Oh, shut up Potter.”


End file.
